Segment 4 - Overcoming Barriers With Data Exchange

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, asked the panelists' thoughts on a proposed timeline for when patients and the healthcare system could anticipate a technological fix to the existing problem of interoperability.

Rebekkah Schear, MIA, said that several patient-friendly apps have been developed that ensure patients have access to their health information and a line of communication with their care provider. Schear also highlighted the importance of wearable devices for a more real-time sharing of patient information with their care provider(s).

"I think the general point is there has to be a balance between having immediate access to most things in our lives from a communications perspective and knowing that the health sector is going to be a little bit slower to catch up," Schear said. "But at the same time, we need to overcome this thick barrier between providers and patients where provides aren't necessarily able and available to connect with patients with immediacy. There needs to be some sort of balance there," she added.

Both Schear and Michael Kolodziej, MD, agreed that the evolution of HIPAA is inevitable and it has to keep pace with the technological advances within healthcare.